Indian companies on an acquisition rampage - luxury brands up for grabs

I thought I'd post a follow up to a recent email I sent out to a few friends a couple of weeks ago (some of you may find this familiar):

Interesting turn of events as Indian companies are on a acquisition rampage around the world. Some of you may have heard of the Hinduja Group's (Gulf Oil) acquisition of Saudi Arabia's commercial lubricant maker, Petromin (formerly owned by Saudi Aramco and Exxon). In late November WSJ mentions that Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are the leading candidates in line to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover (in case Ford decides to divest its interest in them).

A quote from the article: "...representatives concluded after the meetings that Tata is "the only company" among the final bidders "with enough money, clout and experience in our industry" to successfully manage the brands, according to a labor official who attended the meetings."

Interestingly, the US Jaguar dealers seem to be against the deal, citing:

"I don't believe the U.S. public is ready for ownership out of India" of a luxury-car brand such as Jaguar, Mr. Gorin said in an interview. "I believe it would severely throw a tremendous cast of doubt over the viability of the brand."
...
"Mr. Gorin said he wasn't judging the management capabilities of Tata or Mahindra. "My concern is perception [in the marketplace], and perception is reality," he said. "It's about saying there are unique image issues with two of the bidders that the other one doesn't have.""

The perception issue is whether US consumers are ready to associate Indian brands with luxury products. I wonder if the same concerns were raised when Japanese manufacturers entered the luxury auto-segment with the Lexus and Acura? I also wonder what visitors to the Taj Boston feel when they stay at the ultra luxurious Boston land mark hotel? The former Ritz Carlton hotel was acquired by the Taj group [part of the same Tata group] for a staggering $170 million in 2006. I wonder if the visitors who pay $500 on an average per night have the same issues of perception that Mr. Gorin speaks of.

Perception may be reality, but is perception something that can be changed over time? In a flat world, the only true constant is change, the survivors will be those who can embrace this change.